GAP (NYSE:GPS) Raised to Buy at Citigroup

GAP (NYSE:GPS) was upgraded by Citigroup from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Tuesday, Briefing.com reports. The firm currently has a $28.00 target price on the apparel retailer’s stock, up from their previous target price of $21.00. Citigroup’s price target indicates a potential upside of 26.13% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of GAP from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday. StockNews.com raised shares of GAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of GAP from $24.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of GAP from a “c” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $20.39.

GAP Price Performance

GPS stock opened at $22.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $8.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.57, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 2.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. GAP has a 12-month low of $7.22 and a 12-month high of $28.59. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $20.10.

GAP (NYSE:GPS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 7th. The apparel retailer reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.20 by $0.29. GAP had a net margin of 3.37% and a return on equity of 22.56%. The firm had revenue of $4.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned ($0.75) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that GAP will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $767,115.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 123,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,493,897.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Katrina O’connell sold 45,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.58, for a total transaction of $1,022,106.28. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $134,057.46. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Mark Breitbard sold 27,222 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.18, for a total transaction of $767,115.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 123,985 shares in the company, valued at $3,493,897.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 266,723 shares of company stock valued at $6,886,765 in the last three months. Company insiders own 31.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of GAP

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in GAP by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 263,675 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $5,513,000 after purchasing an additional 3,109 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S purchased a new stake in GAP in the 4th quarter worth approximately $73,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in GAP by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 41,265 shares of the apparel retailer’s stock worth $863,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of GAP during the 4th quarter valued at $197,000. 58.81% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

GAP Company Profile

The Gap, Inc operates as an apparel retail company. The company offers apparel, accessories, and personal care products for men, women, and children under the Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta brands. Its products include adult apparel and accessories; and fitness and lifestyle products for use in yoga, training, sports, travel, and everyday activities for women and girls.